


Till I'm Home Again

by MusicallyCalm (whovian4life)



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: DGHDA Christmas Mini Bang, Dirk can't cook, Dirk likes Disney this is practically canon, Disney, Established Relationship, Fluff like you wouldn't believe, M/M, Mild Language, Romance, post season 1 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 14:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13192443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whovian4life/pseuds/MusicallyCalm
Summary: Dirk tries to plan the perfect relaxing evening for a stressed Todd, complete with dinner and a movie. Not everything goes according to plan.





	Till I'm Home Again

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Alex here with her first fic in... a year, probably. Anyway, I love this show to pieces and I fell in love with this ship almost immediately. I had so much fun writing this fic, and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> This is an AU set post Season 1. Dirk does not get recaptured by Blackwing, but Todd still has pararibulitis. 
> 
> Thanks to mlentertainment on Tumblr for her art (be sure to check it out, it's amazing!) and efferveseance for their beta work. You guys are the best.
> 
> Loosely based on this prompt: Listen to Chinese by Lily Allen and write about a super relaxed evening. The title is a quote from that song.
> 
> Thanks so much to the mods!
> 
> Note: I do not own Tangled or the song at the end.

It took a while for things to get back to normal after the Patrick Spring case. Eventually, Dirk’s shoulder had begun to feel a bit better, and the two of them began to think about their next steps. With Farah’s money, they were looking to rent a separate space for their agency, but for now, it was operating out of Todd’s apartment.

Todd hadn’t minded at first when Dirk suggested this arrangement. Dirk had been eager to hit the ground running as soon as possible, so he agreed to provide the space while they looked for a bigger building they could afford.

What he hadn’t accounted for was the sheer amount of _chaos_ that it would bring. The unpredictability of cases, a wide range of clients, and a fairly shocking amount of paperwork were all things that he should have expected. Sometimes he just found himself drowning in all of the madness.

However, he really hadn’t expected to fall for Dirk Gently. The feelings had been developing for a while, vague swirls of emotion that began sometime after Dirk was discharged from the hospital. They only grew from there, slowly revealing themselves in unexpected ways. A simple compliment would make his entire day. When Dirk came out to him, butterflies danced in his stomach. It all lead up to the moment when Dirk smiled at him over dinner one day and... _oh._

From then on, everything seemed to fall into place. He got used to the chaos over time as they settled into a vaguely regular routine. Usually, someone would call with a case, but sometimes a case would just randomly pop up without warning (“Todd, I swear, I don’t know where that alien came from, he just ran right into me!”). Right now, they were winding down after a case-- someone had accidentally released a real-life genie that had caused some serious problems-- and were dealing with the appropriate paperwork. Todd had tried to put it off for a day to rest and relax, but Farah would not allow that. They had worked for a few hours that morning when Todd became fed up and announced he was going out for a walk to clear his head. Now, after several hours, he had returned to the apartment.

Todd opened the door. “Dirk, I’m home!” All at once, his senses were flooded with a barrage of stimuli. He could hear the sizzle of something cooking on the stove and the smell of something that was on the cusp of burning but wasn’t quite there yet. He expected Dirk to be in their bedroom, doing anything to avoid paperwork. Instead, he was surprised to see him at the stove, whistling a cheery tune and stirring what looked like vegetables. Although, he supposed, perhaps that _was_ Dirk avoiding paperwork.

“Dirk!” he called, placing his jacket on a hook and heading towards the bar.

Dirk whirled around instantly. “Todd!” he exclaimed, breaking into a huge smile and letting the spoon clatter to the floor. Todd couldn’t help but stare. While he hardly expected Dirk to wear his leather jackets all the time, especially while cooking, it was still strange to see him in a simple white t-shirt and _jeans_ of all things. A graying apron covered with old stains from Todd’s own cooking attempts was tied around his waist and neck.

He ran forward and enveloped Todd in a sudden but firm hug. Todd stiffened but eventually melted into the embrace, Dirk’s head resting on his shoulder. He had never been much of a hugging person, but with Dirk it just felt… right. There was a certain comfort to having Dirk hold him, a certain warmth that accompanied his touch. It was something that never failed to surprise him or make him feel more like himself after an attack.

After what felt like an eternity, Dirk broke away and stood there, smiling at Todd and bouncing on the balls of his feet. They stayed like that for a while, looking into each other’s eyes, neither of them wanting to break the spell.

Suddenly, an acrid smell began to waft through the air. Todd sniffed deeply and scrunched his nose in distaste before he fully registered what he was smelling. “Dirk, is something burning?” He looked past his boyfriend to the stove, where the flames were creeping around the sides of the pan and a thick plume of black smoke was coming from its contents. “Um, Dirk?”

The look that flashed across Dirk’s face would have been funny if their dinner wasn’t in flames. He whirled around and jumped backward as he took in the mess on the stove. “Oh, _shit._ " His eyes darted around the room, looking frantically for anything remotely useful. Flames burst to life in the center of the pan and he screamed, running back to Todd and clutching him like a lifeline. “Todd, what do we do?”

“I don’t know!” Dirk’s grip on his shirt got even tighter than before. “Do we have a fire extinguisher or something?” Before Dirk could respond, the flames flared higher, the sound roaring in his ears. Todd closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, no time for that. Dirk?” The taller man lifted his head to look at him. “Just get the pan lid and smother it.”

Dirk nodded and bolted towards the counter. After a few seconds of panic, he found the lid on the bar. As he turned back to the stove, he froze, taking in the sight of the flames in front of him. For a moment, he seemed to hesitate, but he shook his head and moved towards the stove, slamming the lid down on the pan.

Immediately, the roaring sound ceased and the flames began to recede. Dirk exhaled sharply and whirled around to face Todd, who was watching him with a look of fond exasperation. He gave a hesitant smile and shrugged, waiting for Todd’s reaction.

His boyfriend only laughed. “You know what? I’m just going to order Chinese.”

\------------------------

After about 20 minutes, Todd returned home with two bags of food from the Chinese restaurant down the street. He opened the door slowly and immediately noticed Dirk on the couch, pressing buttons on the tv remote and frowning at the screen. “Hey, Dirk, what’s up?” he said, placing the bags on the bar and starting to unpack their contents.

Dirk continued to squint at the television. “I’m trying to rent a movie on Amazon. I loaded up the app, but I’m having trouble finding the actual movie.” He continued to press buttons, muttering to himself.

Todd shook his head and smiled. This was typical Dirk. “Why don’t I get that set up and you can unpack the food, okay?” Dirk nodded and got up from the couch, walking towards Todd and passing him the remote. Todd looked at the screen and immediately saw what the problem was: Dirk had gotten stuck on the home screen. He quickly navigated to the search bar. “What movie were you looking for?”

“I was in the mood for a Disney movie.”

“You’re always in the mood for a Disney movie.”

“That’s irrelevant, Todd. Anyway, I was thinking about Tangled? I know you like that one and we haven’t watched it in a while.” Dirk lifted a container of wonton soup out of the bag, scrutinized its contents for a second, and then set it aside. “That’s the last of the food, Todd, should I get the plates out?”

“Yeah, sure.” Todd found the movie and pressed the button to rent it. “I know you like it too, you’re always singing Rapunzel’s songs in the shower.”

Dirk let the cabinet door slam shut. “I beg your pardon, Todd.” He began to put some rainbow chicken on his plate at an incredibly fast pace. “I sing all the songs from that movie in the shower, including the duets, and I am quite proud of that.”

Todd laughed, getting up to join Dirk at the bar. “I know, and it’s actually really adorable.” He noticed the flush that appeared and decided to press on as he opened the lo mein. “You know, those duets are better with two.” Dirk immediately caught on and blushed even deeper, sputtering out an incoherent reply. Todd just smiled and continued to load his plate.

Soon, they were sitting on the couch. Todd grabbed the remote and pressed play, watching as the familiar Disney logo lit up the screen. They sat in silence for a minute, eating their food. Suddenly, as the first lines of the movie were spoken, Dirk said in near perfect unison, “This is the story of how I died.”

Todd shoved him playfully. “Oh, stop it,” he said, laughing. “Don’t be like this for the whole movie. At least stick to the songs.”

Sure enough, as soon as the first song came on, Dirk was singing along at the top of his lungs. For a second, Todd contemplated whether he should remind him about the number of noise complaints they had gotten after similar incidents, but he decided to just let it be. He could deal with some cranky neighbors if it meant Dirk was happy.

The pattern continued throughout the rest of the movie until they got to “I See the Light”. Dirk started to sing but eventually broke off and just stared at Todd, who abandoned his egg roll and stared back. In that moment, it was like time had frozen. The song continued in the background as they looked at each other, each one smiling goofily. Todd was the first to break the spell. He turned his attention back to the movie but snuggled closer to Dirk at the same time, resting his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Dirk reached for one of Todd’s hands and held it as he ran his fingers through Todd’s hair. Todd looked up at him, the goofy smile melting into a content one, and placed a kiss on his cheek. Both of them blushed instantly, moving even closer to each other. Without another word, they turned their attention back to the movie.

\------------------------

There wasn’t much food left over, but Todd took what was left and put the containers in the fridge. As he went to shut the door, he heard the faint sounds of a record being put on. A simple yet compelling soul melody began to echo through the room.

_“At last my love has come along...”_

Todd slammed the door and whirled around to see Dirk standing there, looking dapper as always. He had slipped on his favorite yellow jacket and was wearing the fondest expression Todd had ever seen. “May I have this dance?” he asked, extending his hand in invitation. With an awestruck smile blooming on his face, Todd took it and quickly placed his hands on Dirk’s shoulders. They began to dance, moving with a semi-graceful air around the small space.

_“At last the skies above are blue…”_

“When did you get this?” Todd asked. “I don’t remember seeing it before.”

“Well, you were out for quite a while today, so I went to the shop down the street and found it. It’s one of my favorites, you know, and I thought you’d enjoy it.” Dirk sang the lyrics under his breath as he spun Todd around.

_“A dream that I can call my own…”_

“Dirk, why did you do all this?” The thought had been plaguing Todd ever since he first walked in the door and smelled the cooking. “You didn’t have to do all this.”

“No, but I wanted to,” Dirk said softly. “I knew how stressed you were, so I thought we’d have a nice, relaxing evening. Dinner, a movie, and a dance. Of course, the dinner part got a bit out of hand, but…”

“Yeah, what part of you thought a stir fry was a good idea? You can barely make toast without burning it.” The two laughed at the thought but quickly quieted as the music and their dance continued.

_“And then the spell was cast...”_

It had all changed so quickly. Todd had been living a boring life when all of a sudden he was living an extraordinary one. Even after the case, the universe had thrown another curveball as his relationship with Dirk developed. It was all still evolving, and Todd had no doubt that it would never stop.

Everything that was Todd’s had become _theirs_. Dirk still had the upstairs apartment, but they were essentially living together. They woke up in _their_ bed, they ate breakfast at _their_ dinner table and now they were slow dancing in _their_ living room. It was a surreal feeling, one that Todd had thought he would never feel. Now, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Finally, for the first time in a while, he was content.

_“For you are mine at last.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Don't be afraid to leave a kudos or comment, it makes my day.
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr at luckylittlepotato (main) and bitinatevetino (DGHDA side blog)
> 
> Have a great day!


End file.
